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agentnico · 1 year

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Violent Night (2022) Review

Never thought I needed to see a stand-off between Santa Claus and Sid the sloth from Ice Age. Turns out, I really did not need to see it.

Plot: An elite team of mercenaries breaks into a family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone hostage inside. However, they aren't prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he's about to show why this Nick is no saint.

David Harbour is most known to everyone as the loveable Hawkins chief of police and No 1 class dad-bod Jim Hopper in Stranger Things. However outside of the Netflix series Harbour is yet to find another signature role to define his career, as he has not had much look in the film medium, with the likes of 2016′s Suicide Squad and the Hellboy remake acting more as a hinderance than a boost to his filmography. Harbour is a very talented actor and a very likeable one too, so it’s a shame that his agent evidently isn’t able to suggest him actually good movies to be in. However in comes Violent Night, a Christmas action slasher that in style merges Die Hard with Home Alone with a home invasion tale featuring action and gore on the level of John Wick. On paper this movie screams potential so no wonder David Harbour took on this role. Especially since his character of a run-down tired Santa Claus who’s been in the business for too long to actually give a real crap is actually really fun to watch. From endlessly downing liquor to vomiting it out even quicker, Harbour’s Santa is done with everything, yet given Harbour’s likeable facial expression he is also a Santa that still cares about giving kids that aren’t on the naughty list a very merry Christmas, no matter how few there are. So Harbour is great, HOWEVER, and this is a huge however - he is still stuck in a bad movie.

Yep, sorry but this is not the way to kickstart this holiday season. Violent Night is not a good film. Harbour’s Claus is great fun, but aside of him all the other characters are either very annoying or simply not worth caring for. The main family who have been taken hostage are for the most part all very self absorbed obnoxious snobs. So honestly I kept wanting them all to turn from hostages to dead bodies. As for the mercenaries, a lot of them try being over-the-top whilst saying jokes, however neither the jokes nor them were entertaining. John Leguizamo as the main baddie - he was okay. Look, he tries his best to be the Hans Gruber-type, but he isn’t given much to work with.

In terms of the action scenes and gore, this movie is pretty gory, but nothing that was actually that shocking or ground-breaking. The action itself was okay...I think. Honestly I couldn’t see the fight sequences half the time as they were set in very dark surroundings, as if the director was hiding the bad choreography and stunt work. There’s a major fight set in the attic, and a lot happens there, but I hardly saw any of it. So don’t walk into this one expecting John Wick-level action work.

Overall Violent Night is a forgettable affair. Only positive is David Harbour and the character creation of his run-down Santa Claus. There are even a few quick flashbacks of this Claus being originally a Viking or Kievan Rus fighter, and I wish we got more of that! If Harbour and that character were just lucky enough to be in a better film with a more fun story and maybe a better action director, we could have had another Christmas classic. Should have had that chap who did Bullet Train earlier this year to direct this one. Sh** would have gone real then.

Overall score: 3/10

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Suicide Squad First Reactions Are In

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Task Force X is back for another deadly mission in The Suicide Squad. Under the auspices of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, a team of mainly C-list DC villains, led by Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and Margot Robbie’s endlessly charming Harley Quinn, will once again face insurmountable odds, which include plenty of explosions, dismemberments, and even a classic Justice League villain.

Described as a “war caper film” by Gunn, the director’s take on DC’s zaniest misfits and outcasts retains much of the gritty tone of David Ayer’s 2016 entry while also introducing the comedic timing that has become a signature of Gunn’s directorial style. The trailers released so far tease an extremely violent movie with plenty of laughs in between.

A band of misfits who learn to work together by facing a challenge much bigger than themselves sounds like familiar territory for Gunn, who has already directed two installments of MCU’s own version of a squad of anti-heroes. But The Suicide Squad not only does away with the cosmic trappings of Marvel’s big-screen space opera, it also tells a “much more complicated story,” according to Gunn.

“I think with the Guardians, you start out sort of knowing that they may have different problems, but at the end of the day, they’re all really good people,” the director told Den of Geek during a set visit in 2019. “That isn’t the case with this [movie]. This is a much more complicated story. Some of these characters may end up being good, some of them are definitely not good, and most of them are somewhere in between different shades of grey.”

Gunn also teased that The Suicide Squad will have a more somber tone than fans expect from Guardians movies: “It’s just a more grounded story. It’s a sad story. Even though we do kill some [characters] in Guardians of the Galaxy, in this movie, you really don’t know who’s going to get killed.

“I don’t think most people think that Star-Lord’s head is going to explode in the middle of the movie,” Gunn said. “Any of these characters [in The Suicide Squad], their heads could explode in the middle of the movie. It’s that unknown of being on edge and really not knowing what’s going to happen is much different.”

So, does Gunn’s latest comic book adaptation deliver the goods for DC? Well, the movie was screened for a group of fans and critics ahead of the worldwide premiere in August, and the reactions are quite positive so far. Take a look at what people are saying about The Suicide Squad on Twitter:

I really loved #TheSuicideSquad. It's funny and gory and foul-mouthed like you'd expect, but it's also deeply tragic and heartfelt with an underlying kindness I absolutely didn't expect. It's just as much satire as it is shoot-em-up. More thoughts once I'm able, but truly wowed. pic.twitter.com/tFpV7tA1Fh

— Kyle D. Anderson (@KyleDAnderson) July 15, 2021

Got to see @JamesGunn #TheSuicideSquad tonight! A hilariously violent and heartfelt story that’s surprising in all the right ways. Enjoyable for everyone — hardcore DC comics fans and newbies alike. Go see this movie.

— Vanessa Armstrong (@vfarmstrong) July 15, 2021

#TheSuicideSquad is an epic all out war movie that demands to be seen on the big screen. Gunn does it again with a hilarious cast of oddballs and under used comic characters. Big laughs, bigger action. DC has another winner on its hand. pic.twitter.com/zogxvQAZo3

— Dorian Parks (@DorianParksnRec) July 15, 2021

Absolutely loved #thesuicidesquad. The movie is super violent, extremely funny, and a huge home fun for @JamesGunn and #DC. Tons of surprises and things I wasn’t expecting. Just a great movie. pic.twitter.com/sTchKRvU4Y

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 15, 2021

#TheSuicideSquad is probably the wildest, wackiest, bloodiest comic book movie I've ever seen. Very clear they let James Gunn run wild and not hold back. Definitely gives Harley one of her best scenes period.

— Kirsten (@KirstenAcuna) July 15, 2021

#TheSuicideSquad is complete mayhem. Similar themes and heart to Guardians, but tonally much more similar to Gunn's pre-Marvel work (it's real bloody). Hilarious, but be warned: the emotional stakes are real. It's not the care-free romp the trailers promise.

— Christopher Gates (@ChrisWGates) July 15, 2021

The Suicide Squad is as funny, irreverent and violent as promised. What I liked best, though, was its heart. Gunn really balances the silly and the serious in a way that the two compliment each other really well. I dug it. Also? King Shark RULES. pic.twitter.com/QgzSqwxY8C

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) July 15, 2021

So this skeptic loved #TheSuicideSquad. It is balls to the wall *bonkers* in very entertaining ways. i.e. If you're wondering whether James Gunn and that super rad @SuicideSquadWB cast would truly go there w/ the material & the R-rating, indeed they DO. pic.twitter.com/hQoGljScTx

— Kara Warner (@karawarner) July 15, 2021

Sounds like we have plenty to look forward to when the movie hits theaters and HBO Max on Aug. 6! In the meantime, you can read all of our in-depth coverage of The Suicide Squad, including plenty more interviews with the cast and director, here.

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